The U.S. Coast Guard is working to recover a tugboat that sank in the Mississippi River early Friday morning.

The tugboat Atro Donna went from pushing some barges to resting on the river floor after hitting a piling in the river, officials said.

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"She started to take on water and tied up at the commodore dock. Workers exited the vessel (before the vessel sank) under the barges," U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Brett Sprenger said.

Coast Guard and environmental crews kept a close watch on the situation, saying that a protective boom has been placed around the scene to make sure no hazardous materials get into the waterway.

Meanwhile, Jefferson Parish officials have taken precautions after a 3.5 mile sheen was spotted Friday near the site of the accident. They said by Sunday, the silver sheen shrunk to about .5 miles.

"We have taken precautions to make sure we have upped our dose of carbon to take the odor away. We also have (to) make sure it does not get into the intake," Jefferson Parish Public Works Director Kazem Alikhani said.

"Our primary concerns it to try to avoid any release of that considering our water intake is south of here. So far, aside from some light sheen, we are really not seeing a whole bunch, which is good news," Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts said.

The vessel has more than 11,000 gallons of fuel on board, authorities said.

Sonar was used to locate the tug some 75 feet underwater, and Coast Guard officials said recovery efforts are expected to be a day-long process.

"Typically, they will send a diver down to hook up lines and use a very large crane to pull it off the bottom," Sprenger said.

Officials said the complete salvage and dive plan should be finished by Monday.

However, due to the current stage of the river, rescue crews said it is not possible to put a diver safely in the water. They said they believe the river will slow down Wednesday, allowing a diver to get in the water and start rescue operations.

Officials said assets are being moved into place to start salvage operations as soon as river conditions permit. A derrick barge from Baton Rouge arrived at 6:30 a.m. Sunday and is on stand-by for the salvage operations.

On Sunday morning, officials said a surface asset showed that the UTV remains in the same orientation. They said the barges at the scene are lighted to avoid disruption to the site of the wreckage.

Three crew members aboard the vessel at the time of the accident, but the Coast Guard said they had ample time to make it to safety before the boat went under.

"From what we are being told, there were about 23 to 45 minutes for them to exit the vessel for their own safety," Sprenger said.

The Coast Guard is in the process of interviewing the crew members and the owners of the tugboat to make sure all safety rules were followed.